Swedish Follies

I have been tracking "Londonistan Follies" for over two years and perhaps the time's come to give the topic a rest. I have made my point and, with the transit system bombings on July 7, Britain's problems have become only too known. Perhaps it's time to move on to document the problems in Sweden, arguably the continent's second worst country in terms of dhimmitude and willingness to abide by radical Islam. I present these in reverse chronological order.

In connection with unrest in Rosengård the station has on repeated occasions been the target of fireworks, vandalism and stone-throwing youths. The security firm will be deployed to help to ensure that the vandalism is not repeated, according to a report by local TV4 news program. Michael Storm at Malmö police pointed out to TV4 that the move in no way meant that the police were unable to look after themselves. The security firm will instead render it unnecessary for police officers to keep watch outside their own police station and free up resources for other duties. The firm will help the police to monitor those moving in and around the area. "We of course think that this is an insecure situation, but now it has happened and we are working on normalizing the situation," he said.

(December 31, 2008)

"Immigrant Rape Wave in Sweden": The Norwegian blogger who goes by "Fjordman" documents a rape pandemic in neighboring Sweden as well as the general reluctance to address or deal with the problem.

The entire analysis bears reading, filled as it is with stunning details. Here's one: "A group of Swedish teenage girls has designed a belt that requires two hands to remove and which they hope will deter would-be rapists. ‘It's like a reverse chastity belt,' one of the creators, 19-year-old Nadja Björk, told AFP, meaning that the wearer is in control, instead of being controlled."

And then this sobering thought: "The number of rapes committed by Muslim immigrants in Western nations are so extremely high that it is difficult to view them only as random acts of individuals. It resembles warfare." (Dec. 12, 2005)

"Sweden's rising Muslim tide": So far, Sweden has not experienced either terrorist attacks or France-style riots, though Malmö, with its very high percentage of Muslims, experiences persistent violence between criminal gangs and sporadic attacks against Jewish targets and municipal buses. "France has a tradition of revolt and demonstration against the state," says Jonathan Friedman, professor of social anthropology at the nearby University of Lund. "But in Sweden it's almost as if the state has sided with the immigrants against the Swedish working class."

In particular, lavish welfare payments have somewhat warded off Muslim hostilities, but they may precipitate their own problems by discouraging immigrants from making their way into Swedish society. "The Swedish system is very pacifying," says Arjumand Carlstein, a social worker at Malmö Islamic Centre. "A lot of people feel you don't have to get a job or learn the language." Also, "Sweden thinks of itself as immune from terrorism because of its foreign policies," adds Magnus Ranstorp, an analyst at the Swedish National Defence College.

Also, this article tells about an Islamist website claiming to speak for Ansar Al-Sunna, the Iraqi terrorist group, stating in September 2005 that Ansar Al-Sunna had established "a small isolated training camp in southern Sweden." It went on: "We wish to inform the Ummah that the Army of Ansar Al-Sunnah in Sweden are well-trained to defend our holy countries ... having established a Mujahideen training camp, located in Skåne [the region in southern Sweden that includes Malmö] ... with the help from Allah." While the camp would be used to train mujahideen only for jihad abroad, the website also stated its intent to "capture and punish" Runar Sogaard, the Swedish preacher who in March 2005 called the Prophet Muhammad a "pedophile." (Dec. 6, 2005)

"Anti-Jewish Cassettes Sold at Stockholm Mosque": A Stockholm mosque bookstore sells cassettes calling for a genocidal jihad against the Jews, according to Swedish Radio News. A mosque spokesman blamed volunteers for stocking the store with the cassettes. (Nov. 28, 2005)

"Appeal court cuts terror sentences": In the first terror-related case to be heard by the Svea Court of Appeal since new terror laws came into effect in 2003, it upheld the convictions of two Iraqi Kurds for terror-related offences but their reduced sentences. "The appeal court found them guilty of planning terror attacks and financing terrorism through sending money to the terror organisation Ansar al-Islam. But in contrast to the lower court, the appeal judges were not satisfied that all of the $148,000 the pair sent to Iraq was actually used for terrorism." (Oct. 3, 2005)

"Leading Imam Warns of Moslem Extremists": Hassan Moussa, the head of the Swedish Council of Imams and considered Sweden's leading imam,wrote on Sep. 6 in the newspaper Expressen" that the July London bombings convinced him to condemn terrorism more forthrightly in his Friday sermons. But, one day after his article, "After the London Bombings, the Time for ‘Buts' Is Over" appeared, he started receiving death threats, even from members of his own mosque. (September 7, 2005)

Anti-Semitism is perceived as a minor problem in Sweden, restricted to marginal neo-Nazi and other extreme-Right groups. Anti-Jewish ferment among parts of the country's Arab and Muslim population is largely denied and ignored. Nevertheless, the phenomenon exists and manifests itself among some Arab and Muslim pupils in suburban schools, on Muslim websites in Swedish, and in attacks on Jews and their institutions. … a wave of anti-Semitic violence has swept over Europe. Most attention has been paid to the arsons and other violent attacks in France and other countries such as Germany and Belgium. But Swedish Jewry, too, has felt this phenomenon.

Swedish Jewry seems, however, to have been the only segment of society not just to be affected by the violence, but also to notice it. In the country at large, the tendency of growing Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism has been almost completely ignored, and to this day most Swedes are unaware of the anti-Jewish sentiments among immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries and their descendants.

(September 3, 2005)

"Sweden threatened with jihad": Videos showing a jihadi group, Ansar al-Sunnah, training for terror attacks, were filmed in what it claims (and does appear) to be the heavily wooded Swedish countryside.

August 8, 2005 video: An announcer says that viewers are about to watch a "demonstration of the high explosives device, that we will use in the name of Allah." A large explosion then follows.

August 29, 2005 video: A written message asserts: "Demonstration of real high explosives device, that is filled with gas instead of ammoniate nitrate." Men with blurred-out faces set off mock suicide explosives and roadside car bomb attacks. Men in a forest clearing set off explosions of white smoke. A red vehicle goes down a forest path and is suddenly engulfed in an explosion.

The videos are available for download on infovlad.net, a website that contains blood-curdling threats ("Sweden will suffer in the name of Allah") and shows a bloody knife plunged into the map of Sweden with the threat "We will slaughter all who dared to attack our prophet Mohamed."

A former Israeli ambassador to Sweden, Zvi Mazel, expressed no surprise at the videos, noting that jihadi organizations "certainly have a potential infrastructure" in Sweden. He added, perhaps a bit sarcastically, that the Swedish press believes "Sweden has immunity from terror due to its anti-Israel stance." (September 1, 2005)

Please give me evidence that kuffar (infidels) should NOT be allowed to kill. Why should you not be allowed to call Sweden Darul Harb (the House of War)? Ulama have stated many times that every state that does not judge according to sharia, and does not have a pact with the Muslims or is paying the Jiziya is a part of Dar ul-Harb, which is allowed to attack and their wealth permitted for all Muslims. Why not follow the example of what our Mujahid brother in Holland did with that pig Theo van Gogh? That brother's action really made a difference in the world, and because of it the Muslims now enjoy some respect and eminence among the kuffar.

(March 28, 2005)

"Islamic law used by secular Swedish court": The Norwegian blogger who goes by Fjordman reports on a November 23, 2004, news item in the newspaper Göteborgs Posten, concerning an Iranian husband living in Sweden.

He had married an Iranian woman, but was now reluctant to live with her anymore because of suspected infidelity. In the divorce case, the man was sentenced by the court, Hovrätten in Halmestad, to pay Mahr, Islamic dowry. The term Mahr comes from the Koran 4, 4 and is a basic part of the Islamic marriage contract,, intended to be kept as some minimum of financial assurance by the woman in case of the man dumping her. The Swedish court declared that they adapted themselves to "Iranian law" in this matter.

Since laws in the Islamic Republic of Iran are based upon Islamic religious law, it basically means that a secular, Swedish court thus judged according to sharia in this marriage dispute. Now, this may all sound cozy and multicultural and respectful of other people's cultures. The question is: Do the people passing this ruling have any idea what kind of dangerous precedent they may be setting? As the women in this open letter write, according to Iranian and sharia laws, there is also the death penalty by stoning for adultery. Are Swedish courts going to "adapt to" Iranian laws in this case, too?

The above text may be reposted, forwarded, or translated so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information about its author, date, place of publication, as well as the original URL.

Comment on this item

Name

Email Address (optional)

Title of Comments

Comments:

Email me if someone replies to my comment

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".